Baker Mayfield wasn't the only veteran quarterback who was available for the Panthers.
Jimmy Garoppolo also was on the trade block for Carolina, which stood to improve under center when it was poised to enter the season with Sam Darnold and rookie Matt Corral as its top two signal-callers. One could pretty easily argue that Garoppolo is a better quarterback than Mayfield, but the Panthers decided to swing a deal with the Cleveland Browns rather than talk shop with the San Francisco 49ers.
So, why did Carolina make a run at Mayfield and not Garoppolo? The Charlotte Observer's Ellis L. Williams answered that question during a recent appearance on 104.9 FOX Sports' "Game On with John and Richmond" show.
"The Browns had a quicker, easier way to get Baker Mayfield out of Cleveland and into a new situation -- and thus being Carolina -- than a roadmap to Jimmy Garoppolo's eventual availability," Williams said, as transcribed by USA Today Sports. "They're really at a gridlock there with Jimmy Garoppolo being owed $20 million. But he's in a spot where they're in no rush to cut him and there's no ugly divorce happening there."
The Niners' patience with Garoppolo makes sense, as sophomore signal-caller Trey Lance still is an unproven commodity and interested teams surely are interested in seeing how Jimmy G rebounds from offseason shoulder surgery. Mayfield, meanwhile, was effectively shown the door in Cleveland when the organization traded for Deshaun Watson and the Browns sought out a backup plan in the form of Jacoby Brissett.
Does Mayfield make the Panthers a legitimate Super Bowl contender? Probably not. But Carolina acquired the 2018 No. 1 overall pick for pennies on the dollar, so it could prove to be a low-risk, high-reward move.
